Robert Caldwell has been in the cigar industry a long time, but his boutique brand Caldwell Cigars is something new. They are still in the process of rolling out the line at select shops across the country. There is a quality and passion to these cigars that is very impressive. Perhaps the star of the new Caldwell line is the Long Live The King lancero. Wood and spice dominate this flavorful superbly constructed medium bodied lancero. The Long Live The King is one of those cigars that will age very well, and is a must try for fans of lancero cigars.

Pre-Light: The Long Live The King features a reddish (almost burgundy) colored wrapper. There are several prominent veins and seem, but these do nothing to affect how the cigar smokes. a pigtail cap finishes off the look of this slightly oily Corojo cigar. The burgundy, gold and beige band features some impressive artwork from Miami-based artist Elio Mercado.

A strong cedar aroma comes from the wrapper of the Long Live the King lancero. There is a spectacular pre-light draw on the cigar that allows through a sweet natural tobacco flavor.

Burn: The burn on the Long Live the King lancero is razor sharp from start to finish. A perfect draw lets through just the right amount of flavorful smoke.

Flavor: There is a decidedly unique flavor profile to the Long Live the King. The first half inch is full of coffee, hazelnut, caramel and cedar flavors while the retrohale is dominated by cedar and spice. At times during the first third there is an almost dark cherry undertone that makes an appearance. There is definitely the signature sweet spice associated with Corojo wrapper and binder tobacco throughout the Long Live The King. Right as the second third begins the flavors of sweet cedar and spice pick up a bit and are joined by background notes of nuts, oak, leather and herbs. The halfway point sees a mellowing of some of the stronger flavors allowing the herbal and floral notes to really shine. As the second third ends cedar, grass, leather, herbs and sweet spice are the main flavors.

Overall: I’ve never been a huge lancero fan, mainly due to how awkward small ring gauge cigars feel in my hands. However, a few months back on the Three J’s cigar cruise, Jaclyn from Caldwell cigars told me I had to try this cigar in a lancero. Sure enough, I was blown away. The Long Live The King lancero is a complex and flavorful cigar with tons of sweet wood, herbs, nuts and spice to it. The construction is superb. Both the burn and the draw are fantastic. The Long Live The King has all the hallmarks of a cigar that will age very well in the humidor. Personally, I picked up several at an event the other night at Stogies Houston to add to my collection. If you enjoy medium bodied woodsy cigars this is a must try.

Pairing: When pairing the Long Live The King with scotch a Dalmore Cigar Malt or Jura Prophecy are the best choices. Macallan 18, Balvenie 17 DoubleWood or Glenfarclas 25 are all great pairing options with the Long Live The King from Caldwell Cigars.

Cigars for this review were provided courtesy of Caldwell Cigars. No request for review was made by Caldwell. While their generosity is appriciated it in no way affects the way their cigars are reviewed. At ToastedFoot we remain committed to bringing you the best high quality impartial reviews on the web.